Make sure you're cyber safe

A convincing WhatsApp scam where criminals pose as a friend or family member in need has cost victims over £1.5 million this year.

Action Fraud has launched a national awareness campaign to urge the public to think twice before handing over money and personal information when booking holidays.
 

The warning comes as a new list of tactics used by courier fraudsters has been unveiled by the City of London Police.

In this months edition we're raising awareness of new data from Action Fraud, where it has been reported that more than £50 million has been lost to remote access tool scams in the last year as well as a warning of a rise in ticket fraud, fraudulent NHS text messages and a warning that Parents and schools are concerned about of a character by the name of Huggy Wuggy. 

More than £50 million was lost last year to scams where victims are tricked into handing over control of their computer or smartphone to criminals.

The videos show a blue teddy-bear like character with sharp teeth, singing about hugging and killing.

Welcome to the February Cyber Scam Newsletter, this month we're raising awareness of an article from Action Fraud warning of Romance Fraud and for family members of online daters to help protect their relatives as in, May 2021 losses were reportedly totalled at £14.6million. As well as this, online shopping fraud reports of bogus e-scooters hits over 350, Apple publishing an Airtag safety guide amid harassment and stalking fears and a warning: don't fall victim to fraudulent investment opportunities as investment scams can be hard to spot. 

Action Fraud received over 350 reports in 2021 about scam websites selling e-scooters.

Family members of online daters are being urged to help protect their relatives from becoming a victim of romance fraud, as new figures show almost £92 million has been lost through dating scams this year alone.

Warwickshire residents have reported receiving scam emails that falsely claim to have been sent by High St. banks.

In this month we're raising awareness of new data from Action Fraud which reveals almost £1 million has been lost to lottery fraud in the past seven months as well as the public being urged to donate safely this Christmas as it's revealed 1.6m was lost to online charity fraud over the past year. Also, WhatsApp users are being urged to be wary over 'friend in need' scam and a warning where criminals are copying real websites to steal savings.

The Fundraising Regulator, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, National Trading Standards and Action Fraud are joining forces to call on the public to give safely when donating online.